


A Christmas For You And Me

by idiotwithdreams



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Insecure Tony, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Pepper Potts & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Presents, Protective Pepper Potts, Secret Santa, Tony Stark Feels, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 20:18:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18836029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idiotwithdreams/pseuds/idiotwithdreams
Summary: Forced into playing Secret Santa with the rest of the Avengers, Tony Stark falls into a state of panic as he struggles to find the perfect gift for the super soldier that he is not in love with, no matter what Pepper says, it's just a crush. Really.Meanwhile, Steve Rogers has decided that Christmas is the time for love and confessions, and has the perfect present in mind for his favorite genius. Little does he know that said genius possesses the ability to misinterpret perfect gifts so differently.Christmas fluff with idiot boys in love.Ft. Pepper and Natasha being tired of all the angsty pining while Bucky loves enjoying Steve's misery!





	A Christmas For You And Me

“No”

“Yes”

“Absolutely not.”

“But- “

“Nope”

“Please, it’s perfect for team bonding. Even Nat agreed.” Steve said, employing full use of his puppy dog eyes. The bastard. Like he didn’t know about the power held by those eyes.

Team bonding. What a joke. Like there was anything worse than mandated team bonding, being forced to sit there and pretend he was one of them, like they were all friends or something, instead of a bunch of unstable, explosive characters thrown together. He knew they barely tolerated him at most. Why bother mixing in when he could stay all day in his lab, with his wonderfully addled bots and innumerable carafes of coffee? Okay so maybe they weren’t quite as terrible as he made them out to be, but they were probably all gonna leave him some time anyway. So why get close and get hurt? Nope, the lab was safe. Tony was very much happy here.

 

“But Steve, I wouldn’t even know what to get anyone, like what do you even get someone like Hill? I would think she’s a bot except she is too frighteningly competent to be that.”

“It will be fun. Come on. Its Christmas. I just- back in the orphanage, Bucky and I used to play it with the other kids and it made being stuck alone on Christmas so much better. I just thought we could have that again, you know. Like a team, like friends, all together.” Steve’s lower lip jutted out as he pouted.

“Fine, just fine. You can have your stupid Secret Santa. Just stop with the eyes, God.” Tony bit out grouchily.

Steve beamed. The guy’s smile looked like it was made up of rainbows and puppies and sunshine and Tony found himself unable to help but smile back. Ugh, this crush really was rather inconvenient. Look at what he got himself roped into now. All because of a crush.

 

 It was really just a crush.

 

An infatuation at most.

 

Maybe a little bit love.

 

But that’s all it was. Tony totally had it under control. He totally didn’t agree to stupid things such as team bonding just to see that smile. Nope, it was all under control.

 

_Oh Tony! Are you sure?_ He could hear Pepper’s voice and her laughter in his head, all exasperated and fond, like when she thought Tony was being particularly oblivious to something. Sigh.

 

“Great, so I will see you at 6 today evening. We’ll be picking names then and remember, all the presents must be handmade!”

“What no, handmade, what Rogers- “Tony spluttered uselessly.

“Bye, gotta go. See you later.” And then Steve was gone, having rushed out of the workshop after having dropped that bombshell on Tony. Fine, just fine. He could just design armor upgrades for whoever it was. Can’t go wrong with that. Tony would be fine, there was no way Secret Santa could screw him over.

 

Except, it was now 6 pm and turns out that it totally could.

Tony stared in barely disguised horror at the words on his little slip.

 

**_STEVE ROGERS_ **

 

Of course, it was. Because karma was a bitch, to Tony, especially. Fate totally had a special vendetta against him. The universe was, in fact, out to get him.

 

*****

 

“Okay, I’ve got to admit, I was skeptical, but you actually managed to pull it off. How’d you do it?” Steve bumped his shoulder against Natasha’s after everyone had dispersed after picking names.

“You wound me, Rogers. Did you really think I would not be able to rig the Secret Santa just a teensy bit to get you the man-child of your desire?” She teased, bumping his shoulder back.

“Thanks, Nat. I appreciate it. Now all I need to do is find the perfect gift for Tony.”

“You do know that you could give him a piece of rag and he would love it and cherish it for life all because you smiled oh so prettily, when you gave it to him, right?”

Steve sighed, “This gift has got to be perfect, you know? Something that truly tells him that he is all kinds of amazing and I would love to have him forever, just the way he is.”

 

 “How about a painting? It would be all kinds of perfect. It would be handmade, something you are good at and it would be all about him, totally something he would love. It sounds like a win-win to me and if that doesn’t work, I would be more than happy to watch you strip and then tie a pretty, little bow on you and drop you off outside his room. Nothing says love than a bright red bow around your package!” She winked.

“Thanks, you won’t mind if I keep that as the last resort though, would you?” Steve replied dryly.

“Suit yourself. Whatever you decide on, it needs to be exceedingly obvious. Tony is more than a little oblivious when it comes to seeing things right in front of him.”

Steve snorted, “Don’t I know it? I’ve been trying to tell him how I feel for months and to no avail. Never mind. Christmas is the time for new beginnings, I’m sure everything will work out just fine.”

 

But now-

It wasn’t working out fine. Naturally stubborn by nature, he refused to give up but even he could admit that this was a bit beyond him. Why did he think he could do this, again?

 

*****

 

The armor upgrades had taken no time at all. Two days in the lab and an all nighter later, Steve’s brand new, bullet proof, reinforced armor was ready. But with four days yet to go for Christmas, Tony’s mind began churning again.

What had he been thinking? Just armor? For the man he had been ~~in~~ ~~love~~ infatuated with since he had been a teenager? Nope, Tony needed to get with the program. Okay, four days to go. No reason to panic. Just needed to find the perfect gift for Steve Rogers, the love of Tony’s—Nope, not going there. There lay nothing but sadness and disappointment down that road, my friend.

 

Okay so what did Steve like? Old Brooklyn neighborhoods, the museums, runs in the dog park, modern art----Oh! He had the perfect idea. Steve had terrible taste in music and it was Tony’s duty as a friend to help educate him, introduce him to the classics and the whole world of rock music and what better way of doing that than making Steve an old fashioned, honest to god mix tape? It was a classic gift idea and Steve would love listening to it with an age-old cassette player. Tony would throw that in as well! It really was the perfect gift.

 

Except, it was a day later, and the mixed tape was long done, and the vintage cassette player had been assembled from scratch and the cogs in Tony’s mind were churning again. How could he have thought this would be enough? No, the gift needed to be better. Steve was exactly the kind of person to spend hours and hours upon creating the perfect gift for his elf. He deserved a gift that was as perfect as him.

While his mind worked on deciding the perfect gift for Steve, he decided to add another present to the super soldier’s pile and designed a new engine for his motorcycle as well.

 

And then he came to yet another slump, when it suddenly hit him.

“JARVIS, find me a recipe for Christmas cake, stat. I need to make the perfect cake.” Because what better way to a man’s heart than with food. Steve loved food. Tony loved Steve and he loved to build and invent, sure, this was no tech but how hard could it really be? Except-

 

“Sir, if I may, while Captain Rogers may have an enormous sweet tooth, I think even his easy palette would object to this.”

Tony stared in dismay at the mess in the penthouse kitchen. Egg shells littered the counter and the batter had somehow reached high up on the left wall and just how was this possible? Tony was a genius, god dammit. He should be able to figure out one stupid cake. Clint cooked in the common kitchen all the time and his food was delicious and he had zero PHDs in comparison to Tony’s several and he should be able to figure this out, ugh.

Gingerly he opened the oven and the pulled out the burnt cake. Why couldn’t the universe be nice to him just once? This was the third such cake. It was like he was doomed for failure.

Time to call in the reinforcements.

 

“Rhodey, my platypus, my honeybear, I need your help.”

“Tony, do you see what time it is?”

“It is time for me to speak to my lovely honey bear, is it not?”

“Tony, it is 3:30 in the morning. That’s when normal people are asleep and are not worrying about what stupid thing their best friend has pulled off now.” Rhodey bit out, in that exact tone of voice which meant that he was currently pinching the bridge of his nose and wishing Tony were in front of him, so that he could effectively punctuate that statement with a punch.

“Aw come now, no need to be so grumpy. Don’t you envy those plebeians their ordinary lives? Anyway, I need your help. This is important. Life or death important. You know how it is, superhero and all, Iron Suckup, was it?”

“Tony, you’ve five seconds to come to the point before I hang up and then punch you the next time I’m stateside. And hold out your coffee supply for a day. And let Hammer have a go at the suit. Because clearly death threats have no effect on you.” Rhodey grouched.

“You wound me, platypus. You’re mean. Plain evil. Anyway, since I’m clearly the better person of the two of us, I’ll let it go and come to the point. Okay, cakes, how do we go about them? Because clearly I’m doing something wrong and all my genius is unable to figure it out and J is being of no help and this is the third, or the fourth was it J, cake that I’ve burnt and now I don’t know what to do and Steve’s Christmas will be ruined all because my fate sucks and the universe has a grudge against me and Steve deserves perfection and the best and now- “

“Hold up. You woke me up at 3:30 in the morning because you were unable to bake a cake for your boyfriend? You said this was life or death. What is wrong with you?”

“It is.” Tony insisted. “The life or death of my relationship with Steve. Come on, Rhodey bear, get with the program. Okay, focus, cakes, how do we do them? Do we add the baking powder before or after putting the cake in the pan, do we- ”.

Rhodey hung up.

 

Grumbling to himself, Tony flopped down on the dirty kitchen counter as he racked his brains once again for some other perfect present.

There were only two days to Christmas. He could do this.

 

*****

 

Steve winced as the knitting needle poked him for the thousandth time. Right, why had he thought he could do this again?

“Would you fucking quit it? You’re going to poke someone’s eye out with that thing. There’s no waving around. It’s a knitting needle, not Harry Potter’s wand.” Bucky grouched.

“I knew it, I knew you liked those books.” Steve said triumphantly as he tried unsuccessfully to make yet another loop.

“Oh yeah? So, what? At least I have my present ready. And at least I know to quit when I realize something is beyond me. I know you think you’re some kind of savant at being a stubborn ass but even you can’t beat these needles into submission.” Bucky smirked. “Why don’t you just pick something else?”

“Okay, you can shove off if you’re not going to help. And you know why. This gift is perfect. It’s just, I can really see him in this. I just need to figure out these damn needles.”

“I don’t see what all the damn fuss is all about. So, what if he steals your hoodie all the time? You love it, you get this disgustingly gooey look in your eyes, like you’re eye fucking him, whenever you see him wearing them around, why change it? There’s no need to go about knitting him a sweater just for that.”

“Because. He complains about being cold half the time during movie nights and he gets this sleepy, cuddly look in his eyes when he is wearing my hoodie even though I know it does nothing for the cold and what better way to keep him warm than a soft and squishy sweater? If he just so happens to love it and wear it to movie nights, then what’s the harm? I just need to keep practicing.” Steve said, his face all soft and warm.

“You mean if he just so happens to fall in love with you because of the sweater.” Bucky bit out with a smirk. “Okay, you know what, your love life is making me sad, Rogers. And if knitting the perfect sweater gets you the fella of your life, then it’s my moral obligation to help you stop all the moping, especially when faced by those puppy dog eyes and that sad pout.”

Steve brightened up as Bucky took over. The instructions in the book were absolutely nothing next to Bucky’s teaching and soon, painstakingly, Steve began to make the sweater, bit by bit.

He would soon have the perfect gift ready. Now all that was left was to come up with the perfect words to phrase his love for Tony, and hopefully, if all went well, Steve would finally get that kiss from Tony.

 

*****

 

To say that Tony was panicking, was putting it mildly. The cake had been abandoned after a dozen or so ill-fated attempts.

 

Which led to Tony calling up Pepper. Who suggested useless things such as going with the numerous presents he already had and instead focusing on telling Steve how he felt.

Because Christmas was clearly the time for soul crushing rejection. Yeah right.

 

And now a dozen articles for homemade gifts later, here Tony was, standing in the common room by the giant Christmas tree, with a varying assortment of presents by his feet as well as clutching an envelope in his slightly sweaty palms. Oh god. What had he been thinking. This was a mistake. Doomed for failure. That’s what it was.

“Merry Christmas, Tony.”, Steve’s voice interrupted his inner panicked monologue. While he had been busy thinking of his doomed Christmas, all around him the Secret Santa gift exchange had begun.

 

He could see Nat holding an antique tea set, courtesy of Coulson, for her collection of gourmet teas that she not so secretly treasured. Bucky and Clint were enthusiastically making out in the center of the room, presents all but forgotten on the ground beside them. Bucky had gotten Clint a set of plastic arrows with little sprigs of mistletoe at the heads that he could shoot at unsuspecting New Yorkers, as the best present for Clint, would involve public mayhem of some kind while Clint had gotten Bucky tickets to the Dodgers’ final game of the season, which led to them showing their appreciation for the other in a very public and enthusiastic way.

Bruce had a soft smile on his face as Nat had gotten him a weekend long yoga and spa retreat. It looked like Bruce had finally gotten the courage to ask Nat out too, as the two were shyly holding hands with awkward but pleased smiles. Tony was happy for them. He was. At least someone deserved to be happy and god knows, Bruce had more than earned it.

Hill had gotten Coulson a set of signed, vintage, Captain America comics and Coulson was holding it like it was the most precious thing he had ever seen. Fury had gotten Hill a new set of guns and Bruce had gotten Thor a hotel stay in The Plaza, so he could spend Christmas with Jane in a private vacation.

Tony’s gaze narrowed down to Fury, who had a slightly bemused expression on his face as Thor handed him the teeth of an ancient Asgardian creature and explained that it was a present given to great chieftains of ancient clans in Asgard. He also held a squawking chicken in the other hand as Thor delightfully explained to him that the chicken was the mightiest of its kind and would produce enough Easter eggs for Fury to win the great hunt in April. Whether he was kidding or not, it was hard to tell with Thor. The expression on Fury’s face alone made this whole thing worth it. Almost.

 

Steve’s voice drew his attention back to the beaming super soldier in front of him and he turned back to look at the slightly fidgety Captain.

“Earth to Tony. Are you okay?”, Steve asked with a soft smile on his face.

Tony nodded and pasted a small smile on his face as Steve bounced up and down with uncontained excitement.

“Here you go, I hope you like it.” Steve smiled.

What were the odds that both of them had gotten each other? Great, Steve’s present was probably perfect and here was Tony, with his half assed attempts and terrible presents. He took the package from Steve’s hands and carefully unpacked the gift. It had something soft and knitted, a deep blood red with specs of white at the bottom. It was a sweater. A soft, warm sweater.

“You knitted this for me?”, He asked, his voice filled with disbelief. No one had ever done anything like this for him. Not even his mother or Jarvis.

“Yeah, you complain about the cold sometimes and I thought what better way for you to keep warm in the winter than a hand knitted sweater. Sorry, if it didn’t come out quite right. I just- I know it’s not the kind of thing you usually wear, and it’s not branded or anything and you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to and- “Steve rambled on, looking increasingly disheartened as Tony continued to stare at the sweater in disbelief.

“I love it.” Tony interrupted him. “No one has ever knitted me a sweater before.” he said, with a soft smile on his face. God, he couldn’t believe it. Steve Rogers was unbelievably perfect. He had knitted him a sweater for Christmas. God, he really was the perfect man. And then he tuned back in.

“Yeah, I thought it would be perfect, what with all your complaints about being cold and you’re always stealing my hoodie on movie nights and now you don’t have to do that anymore and you could just wear this- “

 

Oh.

So that was what it all was about.

Usually on movie night Fridays, Tony would stumble in, always wearing an old tank top, after a night long bender, and fall into the couch next to Steve. It would usually be cold and Steve would always be right there, all soft and warm, pressed up against him. And Tony was many things but resistant to temptation, he was not. Steve was always so warm, and his thin hoodie would just be lying around, and Tony just couldn’t resist shivering and wearing it and then using it as an excuse to cuddle up to Steve. It smelled so safe. Like home. So what if he ensured that he always ended up wearing the same old tank so he would undoubtedly end up feeling cold? Steve's cuddles made him feel warm. Safe. Cared for. And it wasn't hurting anybody if he cuddled with him once a week, in the dark, right? Yeah, right. Steve had clearly figured it out if this gift was anything to go by.

This whole gift was a rejection sweater. Steve was probably just tired of Tony using his hoodie as an excuse during movie nights and didn’t want Tony doing that any more. Probably wondered what was wrong with Tony to keep wearing his clothes. They weren’t like that. Steve probably didn’t appreciate Tony’s clinginess during movie nights either. God, what an idiot he was. Steve always seemed to cuddle up to him during those nights. He had misread everything.

 

Another case of classic Tony Stark Delusion.

 

Steve was probably just annoyed at him and had found a way to effectively stop it all. And there went the hope, hope that Tony hadn’t even known he was clinging to, how could Steve ever feel the same if he had such an issue with Tony even cuddling with him. God, Tony was an idiot and he had only himself to blame.

“What? What’s wrong?” Steve asked as he saw the smile fade from Tony’s face.

“Nothing. Thank you for the present. Merry Christmas, Steve. These are for you.” Tony smiled woodenly as he handed over each of the presents one by one. Steve expressed his delight appropriately for the mixed tape and the new uniform and engine, until they were left standing there awkwardly.

 

“So, what’s in the envelope?”, Steve asked. Tony had all but forgotten about the envelope he was still clutching in his hands.

“Oh, this is for you too, I guess. Consider it an extra present. Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything nice to get you and had to improvise.” Tony admitted with a rueful smile.

“What are you talking about? These presents are perfect, Tony. I can’t believe you made so many presents for me. You didn’t have to give me all of them, you know” Steve exclaimed as he carefully opened the envelope. He pulled out the small booklet and browsed through it, fascination writ on his face.

“It’s um a gift booklet. Like little gift vouchers for things I could do for you. Like free uniform or tech upgrades or free baseball tickets or museum tickets. There are a few blank ones too, sorry, I couldn’t think of enough things that you could want me to do for you. I didn’t really have much to offer. I know, I know, it’s kind of a stupid idea, in all honesty, I blame JARVIS and all nighters and stupid Wikipedia with their gift suggestions, sorry, it’s stupid, you don’t have to use them, they’re childish and- “Tony trailed off as Steve pressed his finger to Tony’s lips.

“Shush, it’s perfect. Thank you so much, Tony. No one has ever done anything half as nice for me.”, Steve said with an angelic smile and in his usual, earnest manner that made you want to believe that everything was right with the world.

 

Steve needed to stop smiling like that at him. He couldn’t take it anymore. The earnestness, the little smiles, they did funny things to his heart. Like make him want to believe in stupid dreams and nurse hope for his broken heart. He needed to get away as quickly as he could.  The SHIELD Christmas party would be the perfect excuse to get rip roaring drunk to forget his stupid ~~love~~ crush and move on. Good thing Tony hadn’t followed through on Pepper’s suggestion. He was glad Steve had been the first to exchange his present and clarify a few things to his stupid heart. Thank god for small mercies. What if Tony had gotten carried away with the holiday spirit and blurted out something stupid and emotional and full of _feelings_? No, this was much better. Now he could nurse his wounds with a bottle in secret instead of facing the inevitable public rejection.

 

God, he couldn’t wait for the party to get started. He made up some excuse about getting changed for the party and left Steve standing there, with all his presents. It was time to get drunk and move on.

 

*****

 

Steve was unable to quite mask the hurt on his face as he watched Tony flirt with a junior agent whose name he couldn’t remember.

He didn’t understand. What had he done wrong?

He thought things were going so well and Tony had liked the sweater so much, exactly as Steve had thought he would, and Tony had made him all those wonderful things. No one had ever done so much for Steve.

Just when he had been about to come up the courage to say something, Tony had left him with his terse, fake, only meant for press smile and left him alone. And now, only an hour since they had reached the headquarters for the party, Tony was halfway to drunk and hitting on a blonde agent who was lapping up everything that Tony was giving him.

 

God, what a disaster.

Just why couldn’t he have said something when he had the chance. Even if Tony had rejected him, he could have at least tried to move on. Anything was better than this not knowing. A part of his heart couldn’t help but whisper that had he confessed, he wouldn’t have had to watch Tony flirt with others, so blatantly.

He knew he had screwed up somewhere. He wasn’t just imagining Tony’s hopeful eyes and soft private smiles that he dearly treasured. He just needed to figure out how to make things right. He couldn’t lose yet another chance, not now, not again. A part of him really believed that Tony did feel something for him.

 

Steve watched the party unfold around him as agents milled around, dressed to their nines, sipping eggnog and swaying to terrible Christmas music. Bucky and Clint seemed to be finding any excuse to get underneath the mistletoe, Thor was dancing with Jane, beaming and looking suspiciously bright eyed and Nat and Bruce were huddled together, exchanging soft smiles as they carried out a conversation only meant for them. Seemed like they had finally gotten together. He was happy for them, he really was.

All around him, happy couples were enjoying the holiday season. He couldn’t help but imagine himself and Tony like that, so happy and in love for the whole world to see.

 

“Why the long face, Stevie?”, Bucky asked as he dropped down into the chair next to him.

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Bucky hugged him close as he followed Steve's line of sight and watched Tony whisper something in the blonde agent’s ear, who threw back his head and laughed fully.

As they watched, Pepper joined the party and made her way towards Tony at the bar. They watched as Pepper dragged Tony away to talk. Tony glanced at Steve over Pepper’s shoulder and their eyes met. Tony looked thoroughly miserable and sad and Steve wished he knew how to make it better. He turned away with a glance and after a moment of heated argument, Pepper left Tony to his own devices again. The latter returned to flirting with the agent again while the former moved towards Natasha.

Steve watched as Pepper and Natasha bent their heads close together and discussed something for a moment before they both began stalking towards Steve and Bucky, with twin expressions of anger and frustration.

 

“Uh Oh. Looks like you’re in trouble with the Stark Protection Squad. What did you do, Steve?”, asked Clint, dropping on Steve’s other side.

“I don’t know.”, Steve replied glumly.

“Explain to me why Tony seems to think you gave him a rejection sweater for Christmas because you didn’t feel the same, even though I know for a fact that you’re stupid about him and had me rig Secret Santa just for him.”, Natasha ground out.

“In fact, he seems to think that he needs to get drunk and move on because his feelings are very much one sided and you said that he shouldn’t have bothered getting you so many presents after he spent hours working on and freaking out about them. Give me one reason why I should sock you right now, Captain.”, Pepper smoothly continued.

 

Steve’s mouth fell open.

 

“Stevie, what the hell?”, Bucky punched his shoulder.

“Ouch, asshole. One, I did no such thing. Two, he never mentioned anything about his feelings. Why would I ever reject him when I’ve been in love with him since years and- “, Steve trailed off, blushing hotly, realizing what he had admitted. Natasha and Bucky smirked, and Pepper looked mollified at his confession.

“Okay, so you love him. But clearly something went wrong. Tony has a bad habit of assuming things and hearing what he wants to hear. Tell me exactly what happened, so we can set this straight and you both can stop with the constant moping.”, Pepper said.

“Nothing happened.”, Steve insisted. “I gave him the sweater and he loved it very much and I told him now he wouldn’t have to steal my hoodie anymore like he does on movie nights every week and then he just handed off the presents to me, which were so many and I told him he shouldn’t have bothered because I would have loved just the one present too and he just excused himself and rushed off. There was no talk of feelings or anything. One moment everything was fine and the next moment, he just pasted that stupid public smile of his and left.”, Steve finished his sad tale with a frown and brought out his full-blown puppy dog eyes.

 

Nat smacked his shoulder. Ouch. “You idiot. You mean you told him that you didn’t want him taking your paper-thin hoodie on movie nights, that hoodie which does nothing for the cold, but you both use as an excuse, to cuddle shamelessly? This is after I caught you secretly requesting JARVIS to tweak with the temperature last month after the one-time Tony said he was too warm to cuddle.” Steve blushed hotly. “And you just gave him a sweater that would effectively put a stop to all that. He probably took that to mean you didn’t want to cuddle anymore and were just giving him a sweater for the cold because you didn’t like him. And he probably thought you didn’t like his presents either since you said you didn’t want so many. You know how he is when it comes to hearing things about himself. He just heard what he probably already thought.”

 

“I just thought it was something nice since he was cold all the time and he could wear it to movie nights when we cuddle on the couch. And that was just a one-time thing okay. I don’t plan this to happen, it usually just does.”, Steve scowled miserably. How could he have known that the perfect present could have screwed it all up?

“Wow, you’re both idiots. You really do deserve each other.”, said Clint as he and Bucky chortled, finding amusement in Steve’s misery. Humph. Why was he even friends with them?

“Okay, we need damage control. You need to go over there and kiss him right now, before he sleeps with that idiot Watson in a dumb move to get over you. Want me to shoot one of these babies over both of you?”, Clint asked, gesturing to his mistletoe arrows.

“Thanks, but I got it.”, Steve smiled, trying to build up his courage.

“Remember to be really clear about your feelings this time, though. God knows you boys can manage to screw this up easily, too.”, said Pepper as she gave him a light shove towards Tony, who was still chatting away with the agent.

Okay, it was time. He could do this. All he needed was to grab a pen first.

 

*****

 

Tony looked up to see Steve approaching him, with a nervous but determined expression on his face. It hurt to look at him, knowing he didn’t feel the same. All he wanted was to be left alone in peace. Steve, no doubt, had noticed something was wrong, maybe even picked up on Tony’s feelings what with the way he had hightailed it out of there, and probably wanted to talk it all out. Ugh. He knew how that was gonna end. Polite but firm rejection and a promise to be friends forever, thrown in the mix. He threw back the rest of his drink as Steve came to a stop in front of him.

“Excuse us, will you? Captain Rogers and I have something to discuss.”, Tony said as he pushed away the agent before he could get a word in. He stood up to get the conversation over with since there was no stopping Steve when he got in his stubborn, determined zone.

Steve smiled shyly at him and handed him a piece of paper that was clutched in his hands.

It was a voucher which entitled the holder for:

 

**_ONE (1) KISS_ **

****

Steve wanted a kiss. He had spelled it out right there, in block letters. A kiss.

From Tony. 

This didn’t make any sense.

He stared at the paper, dumbfounded. Was this a joke? His eyes must have said much the same as Steve whispered,” I thought you said these coupons could be used for anything I wanted. Can I have this then?” and stepped in close.

There was no mistaking the nervousness and the fondness in Steve’s eyes. No way he could misinterpret this.

“Why?”, he whispered. He wanted to be sure. Needed to. Never in his wildest dreams could he have thought this would come true.

“Because I am in love with you. I have been, for a long time. I thought maybe Christmas could be the time for you and me, if you will have me, that is?”, Steve said he pressed one hand gently against Tony's lower back, pulling him in closer.

Tony gave a slight nod as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Steve’s. It was everything he had ever imagined and so much more. Steve’s lips were soft and slightly chapped, but his mouth was warm and welcoming. Eventually the need for air became overwhelming and they broke apart. He rested his forehead on Steve’s, a wide smile playing on his lips as he whispered the three little words back to him.

 

Steve handed him another voucher then which entitled the holder for:

 

**_DATES (FOREVER)_ **

****

Tony couldn’t help the grin that broke across his face as a blush climbed up his neck, fetchingly.

“Getting sappy in your old age, Rogers?”

“Just for you.”, Steve whispered as he smiled the heartwarming smile Tony knew was reserved just for him. God, Tony loved him.

“You haven’t answered my question yet. Will you be fulfilling this voucher as well?”, Steve insisted as he nipped at Tony’s lower lip.

“Yep, for as long as you will have me.” Tony grinned against Steve’s mouth as the clock struck 12.

“Merry Christmas, Steve.” 

“Merry Christmas, Tony.”, Steve whispered and they kissed again, to a series of cat calls and whooping from the room at large.

 

Guess the universe had finally decided to come through for Tony. Christmas truly was the time for miracles.

**Author's Note:**

> I received a response that was far greater than what I had expected for my first ever fic which I shared last week.  
> This prompted me to write this little Secret Santa piece because it is never too early for Christmas and presents! (And yes, I know it is May, but I needed the fluff after Endgame, so shush!)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this and please let me know any feedback that you may have!  
> Love  
> -K


End file.
